Job Description Verion 8 Final Ref no:
/ Role ProfileJob Title / Director, Library and Digital Information Services
Directorate or Region / S Asia / Department/Country / Delhi, India
Location of post / Delhi / Pay Band / 8/E(UK-appointed or locally recruited)
Reports to / Director Operations / Duration of job / Three years fixed term contract renewable
Purpose of job:
To lead on transformational change, provide strategic holistic leadership of the British Council’s Library and Information Services operations in India, ensuring these are aligned to core strategy, demonstrate thought leadership, develop a digital offer, are of world-class standard, and deliver against impact, quality and business KPIs.
Context and environment:
The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the United Kingdom and other countries. We call this cultural relations, and we believe it brings the people of Britain and India closer together, and helps them to understand each other better.
We have been in India for over sixty years, and during that time we have developed deep and lasting relationships with individuals and organisations in India.
We have a network of 9 centres across the country and a team of 450 staff. In 2012, we engaged with over 1.79 million people in India directly, and a further 60.59 million through our digital and remote services. We have an ambitious programme for our work in India in the future.
We have three key areas of work - English, the Arts, and Education and Society, through which we engage with leaders, policy makers, influencers and opinion formers, from senior politicians through to teachers and youth leaders.
The Cultural Memorandum recently signed between the UK and India Prime Ministers and the acclaimed Re-imagine project, led by the British Council in partnership with leading Indian and UK educational and cultural institutions, has given a new impetus for a refreshed and more ambitious approach to our cultural relations mission as we look towards the 2020 horizon. Our ambition is to exponentially increase our client and audience numbers, and create a self-sustaining business platform for delivery of an innovative and growing range of products and services.
Key features of our activity over the coming years will include: the delivery of English language learning opportunities across the public and private sectors; world-class teacher education and educational policy fora; collaborative research projects in higher education; schools partnerships; personal development through digital information services and UK qualifications; platforms for arts and cultural exchange; and technology solutions to give access to all our products and services on the widest and most cost-effective basis.
Our pan-India network of 9 libraries (Delhi, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore) is currently part-way through the Network Development Programme, a transformational change initiative designed to create 9 British Council centres offering our full range of products and services. The programme will establish a consistent British Council membership offer across all centres, increasing our reach and impact across India. It will also align the work of our libraries with our SBUs, to ensure that this meets our core purpose and strategic objectives.
The LIS network in India acts as a delivery channel for our Strategic Business Units (SBUs), creating a lasting, transformational impact in three areas:
· Providing state-of-the art access to information for 6m customers in India through physical and digital platforms
· Connecting people to opportunity by convening active networks and communities of interest cross-cutting online and F2F
· Supporting our core areas of work in cultural relations – English, Arts, Education and Society – by delivering 1,000 programmes per year in our 28 centres throughout India, exclusively through partners by 2020
The core purpose of the LIS Central Team is to:
· Act as a focal point for quality and consistency across the 9 centres, supporting them with collection development, including digital, identifying and procuring content, and branding across the pan-India network
· Liaising with SBUs to ensure strategic alignment and high-quality delivery of all content
· Manage vendor relationships / SLAs / AMCs for the library network in South Asia
· Lead on learning & development and knowledge management for the library network, and provide a physical and digital platform for exchange of best practice and ideas
· Increase the British Council’s reach and impact across India
Accountabilities, responsibilities and main duties:
Driving thought leadership in digital libraries (50%)
· Drive forward best practice in global library and information service provision, ensuring the British Council is positioned as a thought leader in this area, with a focus on digital libraries
· Identify appropriate partners for digital research, development and delivery
· Provide library and information services advisory for the British Council, advising on rollout of new LIS products and platforms both regionally and globally, as well as global procurement
· Lead on intra-network communication and sharing of best practice, including convening regular meetings for the pan-India team
· In collaboration with Head Digital, shape LIS digital strategy (developing and implementing social media strategy, leading on digital product innovation and system development), providing regular communication and training for the LIS team as required
Business development and stakeholder management (30%)
· Oversee business development function for LIS India, leading team of Heads British Council in the network centres
· Develop and maintain partnerships with key stakeholders in corporates, HE institutions, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), content providers, and vendors (library management system, RFID, etc.)
· Strengthen internal relationships between LIS and the SBUs to support cross-SBU working
· Liaise with SBUs to understand strategy and plans
· Agree centralised programme and collection with SBUs
New models and product innovation (10%)
· Research new models in library and information services (home delivery, hybrid physical and delivery model, e-book lending, etc.) and pilots these where appropriate, assessing viability for roll-out
Strategy development (5%)
Contribute to the development of digital strategy for India
Line management (5%)
· Line manage the Head LIS (Central Team)
Key relationships: (include internal and external)
Internal:
Country Director
Director Operations
Area Directors E / S / W India
Head Programmes N / E / S / W India
English, Exams, Education & Society and Arts leads
Library and Information Services Central Team
Central Marketing and Communications team
External:
ICCR contacts
Key media contacts and editors
University Vice-Chancellors and Schools leaders
Directors of cultural institutions, museums, and arts bodies
CEOs and corporate leaders
Senior sponsors and partners
Exams Partners (IELTS agents, etc.)
Premises Management (rented or partner premises where applicable)
Local UK government representatives and business partners
Other important features or requirements of the job
(e.g. travel, unsocial/evening hours, restrictions on employment etc)
Occasional evening or weekend working where programme requires.
Please specify any passport/visa and/or nationality requirement. / UK candidates may be offered a diplomatic posting. All other candidates should have the legal right to work in India
Please indicate if any security or legal checks are required
for this role. / Reference check as per BC India policy
Person Specification
Essential / Desirable / Assessment stageBehaviours / Shaping the future (Most Demanding)
Changing the nature of what we do and the benefits we gain by thinking and planning with creativity
Creating shared purpose (More Demanding)
Creating energy and clarity so that people want to work purposefully together
Making it happen (Most demanding)
Achieving stretching results when faced by change, uncertainty or major obstacles / Interview
Connecting with others (More demanding)
Actively appreciating the needs and concerns of myself and others
Working together (Most demanding)
Creating the environment in which others who have different aims can work together
Being Accountable (More Demanding)
Putting the needs of the team or British Council ahead of my own / These behaviours will be needed to successfully carry out the role, but will not be assessed for recruitment purposes
Skills and Knowledge / Project and contract management (Level 3) - Context, market and stakeholders
Business management (Level 3) – Business strategy / Shortlisting and interview
Experience and knowledge / Professional sector expertise in library and information services (7+ years), including strategic management and business and financial planning
Experience of developing and managing digital services
Knowledge of UK resources and best practice, cutting edge approaches in Libraries and Information services. / Experience of managing transformational change / Shortlisting and interview
Qualifications / Graduate in any discipline
Library qualification / Masters level qualification in business or management / Short listing
Submitted by / Date / 13.3.2014
6 of 6 Recruitment Team June 2011